At the end of this week it will be only a month left until we meet our little baby girl. So, this weekend I plan on washing all newborn clothes, organizing all our essentials and packing my hospital bag. I had a bit of complications in this pregnancy so I never know, maybe she will come even sooner. We just came back from the countryside and I know that right now we will not be traveling there for two months at least. So I’m already missing my family and our peaceful routines. Still, I’m making peace at home and making it as cozy and calm as I can. Not just for me but for my little two years old boy too. I want everything to have its place, to be as clutter free as possible, and to make us feel good. I didn’t buy anything new or get rid of anything we had, I just searched for everything I already had and used it. Basket for essentials beside my bed, basket in the linen closet for keeping diapers and creams. I simply shifted things around accordingly to our needs.
I already did a clean out of baby clothes. I prepared all newborn clothes and most of it from my firstborn. We will be using pretty much everything, just a few torn pieces were removed from closet. We bought a few more onesies and few more essentials we will be using with this baby. We already have our infant car seat and stroller, our crib, our baby carrier and diaper bag. I saved glass baby bottle, cotton breast pads, nursing bras and baby blankets.
And as minimal as we are trying to be we are going to need some of new stuff after all. Our parents, brothers and sister will be bringing some new stuff. It is just how it is. So, this time I am even more eager to communicate with them and tell them what we need. My mom and sister already bought muslin blanket and few bodysuits. We bought pacifiers because we want to have it just in case even tough we will not be giving it to her if not needed. We did the same with our son and it was a great choice for us and him too. I will be buying few cloth diapers for many things because they are great, they are washable, durable and just simple to use. The most important lesson I learned with my first baby was that nothing will make motherhood and parenting simple or easier. When we were buying things for him we decided to go without a bunch of stuff other parents suggested us and our own parents insisted on buying. This time, we are doing the same.We don’t need a special playmat or mat for tummy time, because I will put blanket on our rug and that will be the spot for her to play and roll over when the time comes. All the toys my son had was his rabbit cloth toy, wooden rings that I simply tied with white cotton string and a wooden rattle. All those we will use with our girl when she comes. With babies there is no need for all kind of toys. Babies grow so fast from month to month, they change their needs and their habits, and they really need the space for movement and their parents. I know that many parents buy different toys adapted to a certain level of child development and thus add some new toys from month to month. I thought about buying a black-and-white book with my son because it contributes to the baby's development at the very beginning, but I decided to cut out hard paper and paint black-and-white pictures myself. I plan to do the same now with my little girl. I just go slowly. I really never felt overwhelmed by stuff, not with my first one and I hope to achieve the same with this one too. Of course, you will get toys and clothes and even some baby gear from friends and family, but you can always donate clothes you don’t plan on using, toys too or you can choose toys you like for your child the most and rotate them.
Here’s a list of few newborn essentials that we see as essentials to us:
Diapers and rash creams and disposable wipes.
Cloth diapers that I’ll use for slipping under when changing diapers, for bathing her in the beginning, for spit ups etc. They are great, easy to use and they get softer with every wash. I have a bunch of them from my firstborn, and I bought a few more.
For bath we use just water and few drops of almond oil. And for body care I simply use almond oil again.
Muslin long blanket that I use as a swaddle, for covering stroller during sunny days and for covering while breastfeeding in public. I also love to use a bit thicker muslin blanket for sleeping and covering her in the car.
Wrapover bodysuits and pants with covered feet. I love to use them and I bought just 100% cotton. You can wash them many time and use them for a long time. My firstborn wore all manner of wrapover bodysuits in his infancy. And I love to choose them in neutral shades. But because this time around it is a girl and my sister and mom wanted to buy something a bit more colorful, I agreed, so now we have a few dark plum, dark rose and patterned pieces. For every size I keep about six bodysuits, the same with bottoms. And it is just enough.
Because we have old wooden crib from our firstborn, but we co-sleep and he really never used it, and it doesn’t fit beside the bed it is a bit of a problem now. So we decided to buy a traveling crib that fits in there and open on one side so it will be perfect. We are living in a small apartment and have just one bedroom so this was our choice this time around.
And the last essential is for me. Cotton, simple nursing bras. Three of them and cotton nursing pads. They are washable and I plan on using the ones I had saved from first time. I hope to be just breastfeeding this time around too, but I have one glass bottle for feeding too.
Little suggestions:
More on motherhood and second pregnancy.
Our time at the countryside was beautiful and filled with peace I really needed. Read more here.
More on simplicity in kid’s wardrobe.
Read more about finding ways of creating your own home, with what you already have. About finding gratitude in imperfections.